Review: Illicit by Madeline Pryce

Illicit

Author: Madeline Pryce

Release Date: June 14, 2015

Publisher: Self-Published

ASIN:   B00ZJMPM48

Genre: Erotic Paranormal Romance

Review Copy Source: Publisher

An angel trapped in darkness, a sinner imprisoned, and a lust borne of destiny.

Eva has no explanation for the tattoo wings shimmering on her back or her ability to heal.

Peter Marx, a reluctant alpha leopard shifter who is more rebel than he is hero doesn't want to rule, and he sure as hell doesn't want to fall in love.

A night of unforgettable passion leads Peter and Eva down a dangerous path. The killer's trap grows ever tighter, forcing the two lovers to fight with everything they have.

Warning: This paranormal romance includes explicit sexual scenes, dirty talk, light bondage, anal sex and dubious consent.

I had a bit of a déjà vu moment when I started reading ILLICIT, the opening bar scene reminded me a lot of another of Madeline's books, WICKED MAGIC, and I had to stop reading for a second to make sure I hadn't already read it. The similarities end there though and I quickly started to enjoy the mystery and danger of the storyline. There were a lot of neat twists thrown in and I enjoyed the characters for the most part.

I am sad to say that I had a big issue with ILLICIT when it came to Peter's character. He could be extremely rude and way rougher than I expected. His treatment of Eva in some scenes was a bit hard to get through. That just isn't my type of love handling. The warning in the blurb is something you should really take to heart before you start reading ILLICIT because I can see some having an even tougher time with a few scenes than I did. Besides those issues I did like Peter when he wasn't being a royal arse. I liked Eva, I thought she had a few moments where she should have kicked Peter to the curb, but for the most part she did a good job of sticking up for herself. The romance between the two was super spicy as you can imagine from a erotic paranormal romance and there are a lot of sex scenes.

The storyline was my favorite part of the story. Madeline is a great storyteller and did a good job of making the story more than just the sex the characters were engaging in. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of the pack included in the story, but I enjoyed the parts where they were present.

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Jeweled by Anya Bast

Jeweled

Author: Anya Bast

Release Date: November 3, 2010

Publisher: Berkley Heat

ISBN: #  9780425236864

Genre: Erotic Romance

Review Copy Source: Author for Honest Review

Defined by magic. Ruled by desire.
In the Court of Edaeii, magic-imbued Evangeline is rewarded for her gift in manipulating emotion with a sapphire stone set into the perfect curve of her lower back. Her greatest rival in the royal court is the enigmatic Anatol, instilled with the power of illusion. He may better her in magic, but he is her absolute equal in passion.
They share something else—they’re both targets of low-born revolutionaries bent on overthrowing the palace of the privileged few. Rescued from the mobs by Gregorio, the brilliant revolutionary mastermind, they’re given sanctuary. But in this warm refuge, Evangeline soon finds herself torn between the magic of one man she has always desired, and the excitingly new and radical moves of another. For her, there is only one choice.
Evangeline, Anatol and Gregorio come together as one to explore the possibilities of love beyond reason, and to indulge in pleasure without limits.

I have been wanting to pick up a copy of Jeweled since its release day but hadn't had the chance so when Anya asked for review sites to review a copy I jumped at the offer. It came in the mail and I immediately started to read it. I was NOT disappointing. Sometimes with Erotic books I tend to find it a little to raunchy and the story not at all satisfying but Ms Bast made all the erotic scenes tasteful and sensual while still making it extremely steamy. I enjoyed the story, It was heartfelt and blended perfectly together with the steamy stuff without throwing sex at you at every turn. The magic elements to the book were fascinating I enjoyed reading about what it is to be Jeweled and the different types of magic they wield. The character and story development wasn't to slow or to fast it all flowed together. Evangeline grows from an emotionally cut off spoiled girl into someone who finds emotion and love with people she never expected it with.

I gave it a 4/5